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+| 2026-05-21T02:26Z | opus-4-7 / autonomous-loop | 92ee48a9 | substantive — picks up the 0202Z carry-forward at stash scope: vintage-stratified survey of all 52 stashes on the contested-root worktree with drop-tier classification; survey only, no `git stash drop` operations | -- | 52-stash survey + drop-tier classification |
+
+# Tick 0226Z — 2026-05-21 — 52-stash survey + drop-tier classification
+
+## Context
+
+[Tick 0059Z](0059Z.md) ([PR #4461](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4461)) and [Tick 0202Z](0202Z.md) ([PR #4478](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4478)) named the contested-root state as **311 working-tree mods + 52 stashes from interrupted prior-session state** — flagged as separate triage work, not in scope for orphaned-commit triage. This tick picks up that carry-forward at stash scope.
+
+**Brief-ack counter was at #5 (pre-empt threshold) per [`holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md)** — pre-empting at #5 with bounded genuinely-new substrate work is the substrate-honest pattern when no named-dep persists.
+
+## Operational discipline — survey, not drop
+
+This tick produces the **survey only**. Actual `git stash drop` operations are operator decisions; the survey provides classification + evidence to enable that decision. The contested-root state where the stashes live is treated as read-only this tick.
+
+## Vintage stratification (52 total)
+
+Inferred from `git stash list --pretty=format:"%gd %ar | %s"`:
+
+| Vintage | Count | Range |
+|---|---|---|
+| 4 days (2026-05-16) | 2 | stash@{0}-{1} |
+| 5 days (2026-05-15 to 2026-05-16) | 12 | stash@{2}-{13} |
+| 6 days (2026-05-14) | 2 | stash@{14}-{15} |
+| 8 days (2026-05-13) | 4 | stash@{16}-{19} |
+| 8-9 days (2026-05-11 to 2026-05-13) | 4 | stash@{20}-{23} |
+| 11-13 days (2026-05-08 to 2026-05-10) | 14 | stash@{24}-{37} |
+| 2 weeks (2026-05-04 to 2026-05-07) | 8 | stash@{38}-{45} |
+| 3-4 weeks (2026-04-21 to 2026-04-28) | 8 | stash@{46}-{51} |
+
+## Drop-tier classification
+
+### Tier A — Almost-certainly droppable (clear orphans / duplicates / empty stashes)
+
+| Stash | Reason |
+|---|---|
+| stash@{0} | "4 days ago" on `backlog/b-0583-...` — file diff stat **empty** (no actual changes); empty stash artifact |
+| stash@{1} | Same — `otto-cli-shard-1618z-b0549-audit-unique-...` empty stash |
+| stash@{18} | `aaron-non-glass-halo-encryption-primitive-...` 8 days ago, **empty** stash |
+| stash@{20} | "WIP on main: 253c88d ... Ani biological-shadow partner (#2776)" 8 days ago, **empty** stash; PR #2776 long merged |
+| stash@{21} | **Duplicate** of stash@{20} same commit + same description; 5 files / 287+136 changes (likely the actual content version; stash@{20} is the empty drop-target) |
+| stash@{24} | "WIP on main: fa00fb0 feat: Kiro background service" 11 days ago, **empty** stash |
+| stash@{41} | **Duplicate** of stash@{44} ("WIP on feedback/aaron-bulk-review-ui-tier-aware-..." 2 weeks ago, 34+8 lines) |
+| stash@{42} | **Duplicate** of stash@{41} (same description, 2+1 lines this version — fragmentary) |
+| stash@{44} | **Third copy** of the bulk-review-UI WIP (58+58 lines this version) — only the largest copy worth keeping if anything |
+| stash@{47} | "WIP on worktree-agent-a5209682d73fc8564" 4 weeks ago — **worktree-agent ID no longer exists**; 668 files / 397+208844 — massive deletion stash (PR #397 history-tarball deletion vintage); load-bearing content already on main via #397 |
+| stash@{48} | "WIP on worktree-agent-abe73073cc7bba314" 4 weeks ago — **worktree-agent ID no longer exists**; 1+1 lines; content trivial, branch gone |
+
+**Tier A subtotal: 11 stashes droppable on minimal evidence.**
+
+### Tier B — Probably droppable after PR-merge verification
+
+Stashes on branches that look like post-PR cleanup work or auto-generated edits:
+
+| Stash | Reason |
+|---|---|
+| stash@{2}, {3}, {4}, {5}, {6} | All on `shard/tick-*-otto-cli-2026-05-16` or `memory/session-arc-end-state-otto-cli-2026-05-16` or `feat/b0553-...` — all 2026-05-16 Otto-CLI session shards; sessions ended, branches likely deleted post-merge or post-abandonment |
+| stash@{7}, {8}, {9}, {10}, {11}, {12}, {13} | All on `feat/b05*-*-otto-cli-2026-05-15` or `feat/persona-otto-migrate-conversations-...` or `feat/b0500-backlog-notifier-...` or `feat/b0538-gemini-md-startup` — same pattern: feat branches from 5-day-old session |
+| stash@{15} | On `chore/b-0515-architecture-as-externalization-target-shift-2026-05-14` — "fix(pr3181): 3 Copilot threads on 1846Z shard" — PR #3181 long merged or closed |
+| stash@{19} | On `aaron-elevator-pitch-shared-world-model-in-git-...` — references PR #2905 (merged); branch was a working name, likely gone |
+| stash@{22} | On `feat/b-0234-dashboard-seo-meta-tags` — B-0234 SEO work, 9 days old; check whether B-0234 closed |
+| stash@{23} | On `feat/agent-roster-card-metrics-refresh-2026-05-11` — Copilot review fix; 9 days old |
+| stash@{25} | On `claim/b0311-external-anchor-coverage-scanner-2026-05-09` — claim branch; B-0311 long shipped |
+| stash@{27}, {28}, {29}, {30} | All on `main` or `feat/b-0356-...` with B-0347 / B-0356 work — both backlog rows long shipped |
+| stash@{32} | On `main`, "0b8e68c feat(riven): add versioned trajectory manager tick script" — 12 days old, work likely shipped or superseded |
+| stash@{33}, {34}, {35}, {36} | On `main` or `fix/*` branches — old loop-tick / pr-publication-executor work; B-0249, B-0306, PR #2070, PR #2075 all 12-13 days old |
+| stash@{38}, {39}, {40} | 2 weeks old on `feedback/parallelism-readiness-...` / `research/b-0189-bayesian-...` / `main` — substrate either shipped or evolved past |
+| stash@{43}, {45}, {46}, {49} | 2-4 weeks old on `fix/memory-md-tier1-...` / `acehack/tick-history-...` / `fix/btw-always-persist-glass-halo` / `pr148-lint-fix-rebase` — all post-PR cleanup work |
+| stash@{50} | 4 weeks old, "Round 44 landing plan for 201-commit speculative branch" — Round 44 long completed; 796 insertions but the SPECULATIVE-BRANCH content was the load-bearing part, which either landed or was abandoned |
+| stash@{51} | 4 weeks old "On hygiene/tick-history-bounded-growth: bounded-growth-staged" — bounded-growth was already operationalized via shard-cadence shift |
+
+**Tier B subtotal: ~30 stashes; each needs a one-line PR-merge check before drop.**
+
+### Tier C — Operator review recommended (substantive content + named topic)
+
+| Stash | Reason |
+|---|---|
+| stash@{14} | 6 days old, "no branch" base, "fix reviewer findings" with **404 deletions** — large diff; verify content type before drop |
+| stash@{16}, {17} | 8 days old on `feat/b-0400-slice3-claim-coordinator` — B-0400 is the bus protocol substrate (still load-bearing); content is "fix(memory)" and "civsim persona map" — may carry research substrate not yet on main |
+| stash@{26} | "WIP on main: 1728fa9 chore(B-0347): carve skill descriptions batch 4/4 — 61 skills" — only 1 file / 1+1 line; trivial but on `main` so the diff IS against current main |
+| stash@{31} | "WIP on main: b695667 docs(ops): add Windows node setup guide (#2144)" — 2 files / **511 insertions** — substantive doc work; check whether substrate landed via #2144 or got lost |
+| stash@{37} | 13 days old, "WIP on main: 9a0624b docs(research): log Catch 33" — 5 files / 172+151 lines — research log; verify whether captured elsewhere |
+
+**Tier C subtotal: 5-6 stashes with substantive content worth operator inspection.**
+
+### Tier D — Total accounting
+
+| Tier | Count | Total |
+|---|---|---|
+| Tier A (clear drop) | 11 | 11 |
+| Tier B (verify-then-drop) | ~30 | 41 |
+| Tier C (operator review) | ~5-6 | ~46-47 |
+| Uncategorized this pass | ~5-6 | 52 |
+
+Roughly **~80% of stashes are clear or near-clear drop candidates**. The 311 working-tree mods (separate scope) likely show similar ratio but were not surveyed this tick.
+
+## Discriminator — composes with the orphaned-branch discriminator
+
+This survey applies the same substrate-honest reasoning from [`backlog-item-start-gate.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/backlog-item-start-gate.md) §"Orphaned-branch triage discriminator" at stash scope:
+
+- **Stash on branch that no longer exists OR with PR # explicitly merged** → analogous to "0 lines diff = substrate identical, fully rescued" — substrate already on main, drop
+- **Stash on branch with partial drift / unknown PR status** → analogous to "20-50 line drift, main preferred" — verify-then-drop
+- **Stash with substantive content + named topic** → analogous to "hundreds of lines / runtime script special-case" — operator review
+
+The discriminator's empirical anchor at [`backlog-item-start-gate.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/backlog-item-start-gate.md) (PRs [#4461](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4461), [#4472](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4472), [#4478](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4478), [#4205](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4205)) extends to a third surface this tick (stash scope, after row scope and orphaned-branch scope). Each surface confirms the cheap heuristic operates reliably.
+
+## Verify
+
+- Total count: `git stash list | wc -l` returns **52** (confirmed)
+- Tier A duplicates are byte-identical: stash@{20}/{21} same description+commit; stash@{41}/{42}/{44} same description+commit
+- Empty stashes (Tier A): no stat output from `git stash show --stat`
+- Worktree-agent IDs: `git branch --list "worktree-agent-*"` returns empty (confirmed orphans)
+- ls-tree=53 on this isolated worktree (canary clean)
+
+## CronList
+
+Sentinel `91312387` (autonomous-loop, `* * * * *`) ✓ armed.
+
+## Composes with
+
+- [PR #4461 (0059Z)](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4461) — original cold-boot naming the 52-stash state
+- [PR #4478 (0202Z)](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4478) — orphaned-branch triage closeout; this tick is its stash-scope sibling
+- [PR #4482 (citation)](https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/pull/4482) — strengthens the discriminator's empirical-anchor chain; this tick extends it to stash scope
+- [`.claude/rules/backlog-item-start-gate.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/backlog-item-start-gate.md) — substrate-drift discriminator; this tick applies it at stash scope
+- [`.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md) — pre-empt-at-#5 with bounded genuinely-new substrate; this tick is the pre-empt action
+- [`.claude/rules/claim-acquire-before-worktree-work.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/claim-acquire-before-worktree-work.md) — isolated worktree pattern for contested-root edits; `git stash` is read-only from this isolated worktree (stashes are global, but the survey doesn't mutate)
+- [`.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md) — Tier C stashes flagged for operator review honors the original WIP-author's intent; no unilateral drops
+
+## Visibility-stop
+
+Substrate landed: this 0226Z survey shard classifying all 52 contested-root stashes into Tier A (11 clear drops) / Tier B (~30 verify-then-drop) / Tier C (5-6 operator-review). The discriminator now has anchors at row scope, orphaned-branch scope, and stash scope. Survey only — no drops performed. Sentinel ✓ armed. End.